Princes of the Universe
by Stavaros the Arcane
Summary: The fall of the Moon Kingdom brought ruin to many civilizations. When the arrogance of two women cost him his closest companion, the king of Uruk made a decision that changed the fate of the far future. Now the senshi will find legends awaiting them.
1. Prologue

Princes of the Universe  
>Prologue:<p>

Alone among the charnel house that had once been a palace, a single figure moved with purpose, his once awe inspiring golden armour covered with dents, cracks and gore. In his arms, cradled close to his chest, was the body of his dearest friend his one equal in the entire world.

Someone must pay for this. The enemy was gone, destroyed or beyond his reach but there was one who shared the blame for this disaster. The woman, whose foolish actions had caused such devastation to his world, his kingdom, and to his companion, still lived. And so he walked to meet her for her final chastisement.

The man in gold finally reached his destination laying down the body of the one who had been like a brother to him with surprising gentleness. His free hand was soon filled with a sword, an artifact of great power that could tear the very universe asunder. With his weapon in hand he turned to the one he had come to see, as she sat barely breathing on a ruined throne.

"Was it worth it?" The man said to the dying woman "Your manipulations, and politicking, and attempts to claim what did not belong to you? Were they all worth it? Did you think that no one on the world you sought to induct into your empire would oppose you if you pushed them far enough? Or that there were not forces that would cease the chance to bring ruin to the kingdom you had built? Was attempting to claim Earth worth all this death? Well was it Serenity?" He spat the name like it was a curse.

The Queen of the Moon Kingdom could only move her head to look at the man filled with so much rage towards her and whisper "I wanted ... to share ... the kingdom's ... glory with ... the Earth."

"HA" the man in gold barked, "You think this hollow shell of a kingdom ever knew true glory? Your empire had no heart, no will, and no value beneath its decadence. You became lax and complacent while the very drive that let your kingdom become powerful withered. On Earth, the great powers built themselves up from nothing, even the fey and gods had to constantly prove themselves. And now because you undermined us and manipulated us the great powers of Earth have been ground to dust, casualties to a conflict caused by your schemes."

Serenity blinked away a tear, "I never wanted this..."

"Well I never wanted Enkidu to die on this meaningless battlefield fighting your enemies." The man in gold snapped back. "What now, queen of lifeless rock? With your enemies gone what will you do? Your kingdom is dead, and there is nothing left to carry on its legacy. It will be forgotten, while the people of earth, who you thought inferior, will survive and rebuild. You have lost. Take that knowledge with you to the halls of the dead, it is not nearly enough to make up for Enkidu's death but it will have to do."

Serenity steeled herself and forced herself to straighten. "That is where you are wrong, King of Uruk. My legacy is not yet done. My final act of magic was not just to seal Metallia away; I have sent the souls of my daughter, Prince Endymion, and the Senshi into the future, where they will be reborn. They will finish what I have started here and rebuild the Moon Kingdom long after we have both long been forgotten. What say you to that Gilgamesh?"

Gilgamesh paused for a moment and asked "This spell, how does it work?"

Serenity was confused at the question, "the magic drew together the strong souls of those bound to the destiny of my child and kingdom sending them forward to be reborn."

Gilgamesh interrupted, "Strong Souls? So others may have been affected beyond those you specifically chose?"

Serenity replied, "Possible. Beyond a chance few members of the court in close proximity to my chosen only souls of immense strength would be affected by my spell. Maybe Beryl and the Shitennou would be affected but other than that..." She stopped as she heard what sounded like a low chuckle from the man before her.

Gilgamesh dismissed his sword back to his treasury. His red eyes twinkled with something that shocked the dying queen, amusement and hope. "I had thought to make you suffer further but you have given me reason to let you expire on your own. Unlike you I know Enkidu, there is no one with a soul and will stronger than his. He will return and I will await him. I have learned much from your mistakes Serenity, and I will learn much more in the ages to come but I will remember the price of arrogance. Farewell Queen of the Moon, I have a lot of work to do in order for me to live long enough to fix your mistakes."

And so the Golden King of Uruk left the Queen of the Silver Millennium to embark on the road to legend and immortality as the fate of a far distant future shifted.

=====================  
>Interlude:<p>

_A clash as master and pupil exchange blows, swords seeking any weakness. An opening sighted, a swift motion, and suddenly the spar ends as suddenly as it begins._

_"OWWWW" whines the defeated student nursing the blow to the head from the teacher's training sword. "Did you have to hit me so hard?"_

_"You are slowly improving, Minako. But you have a long way to go before you have mastered the art of the sword. If you truly wish to protect the innocent from evil then you must be dedicated, because if you falter you are not the only one who will suffer for it. Now again!"_

_"Yes Arturia" And the combat began again._

_Another clash, this one of fists, two standing against many, hearts ablaze with the thrill of combat._

_"Oy Girlie? How'd you manage to piss off so many of these scumbags?" The older of the two, a blue haired man asked his unlikely comrade as another of his enemies crumpled._

_"Beat up the gang leader's little brother and took his lunch money." Said the tall girl knocking back another of the criminal trash._

_The Blue haired man chuckled, "Well you hold yourself well in a fight I'll give you that. Remind me of myself when I was a young lad."_

_"You ain't so bad yourself old timer" The girl replied ducking under a swing before kicking the opponent's legs out from under him._

_"Well you could say I've picked up a thing or two about fighting over the years." The man paused looking for another foe to strike but realized that there were none left. Those not lying on the ground in agony had fled terrified of the two foreigners. "Well that was fun, having had a good tussle in a while. You got a name lass?"_

_"Makoto Kino. How about you?"_

_"Setanta Mac Deichtine, A pleasure to meet you."  
>-<em>


	2. Chapter 1

Prince of the Universe Chapter 1:

"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late, late, late LATE!" came the panicked cry of a teenage girl rushing to get to school. People ducked out of the way or were shoved aside, many of whom sighed at just how common an occurrence this explosion of havoc was.

Well it seemed that nothing could slow the crazy teen down... right up until she heard a yowl of pain and a chorus of laughter. And so Usagi Tsukino skidded to a halt next to a part where a bunch of younger children were torturing a cat. Now anyone who knew Usagi could rattle off a long list of flaws: She was often lazy, whiney, selfish, gluttonous, irresponsible, and so on and so forth but for all her faults she was a decent person and would not stand for someone tormenting a poor animal right in front of her.

"Leave that cat alone!" Usagi shouted at brats, striding forward and picking the cat up and glaring at the tormentors.

Seeing the gig was up the kids scattered, heading different directions. Usagi turned her attention to the cat in her arms checking it for injuries.

"You see okay, little kitty. A few bumps but nothing looks serious." Usagi paused looking at the adhesive bandage on the cat's forehead, half hanging off.  
>"I don't think this will do you much good" She said removing the bandage reveal a strange crescent mark. While she stared at it the can jumped out of her arms onto a nearby railing and looked at Usagi as if studying her. Usage was about to comment on the weird look the cat was giving when she caught sight of her watch. "EEEP I AM SO LATE! GOTTA RUN!" before speeding off again.<p>

"Welcome back to Japan, Gilgamesh. It has been quite a while since you graced my country with your presence."

Gilgamesh looked across the table to the man he had come here to meet. "Polite as always Kojiro, it's nice to see you again."

"I take it you are here for more than just a vacation or else you would not have requested to speak to me." Sasaki Kojiro said with a bemused smile.

While the two immortals got along well enough they were hardly close friends. The immortal Japanese swordsman unlike most immortals tended to dress in more traditional clothing of his nation but for this lunch with the First of the Immortals, he had dressed in a business suit, not as expensive looking as the one Gilgamesh wore but trying to outdo the King of Heroes in shows of wealth was an exercise in futility.

"So do I need to warn the Emperor about anything specific or just the general 'Gilgamesh is in town, have people start practicing disaster response drills' I usually give?"

Gilgamesh chuckled "I'm not sure yet. Remember the seal I told you about, from before I became immortal."

Kojiro frowned, "I do remember things about my first life you know. And you gave me the complete run down of everything I missed that night on account of being dead."

Gilgamesh winced, that night was never an enjoyable topic for either of them "Well I think it's weakening. I can feel the old evil stirring as though seeking a weak point in this part of the world. It could be nothing or it could be what I have been expecting to occur for a long time. I ask you to keep alert for strange happenings. I figured it would be best if I investigated things myself before spreading the news to all of the immortals. Feel free to pass on information to your emperor, the Imperial family of this nation has been a reliable ally to us." Gilgamesh said, his eyes betraying a mix of concern and anticipation.

Kojiro considered this for a moment, "Alright, I should be able to make things easier for you from my end. Provided you don't do anything careless the authorities and government should not be a hindrance. Oh and a word of warning, the Hound is in town."

Gilgamesh groaned, "That could be annoying. But at least it isn't the backward-aging brat from Avalon or HIM."

"The Hound and I meet up for drinks and Karaoke on Fridays if you're interested" Kojiro said, smiling as he remembered just how much fun drinking with the Irishman could be.

"I'll keep that in mind" Gilgamesh said in a deadpan voice.

-  
>Usagi was the picture of teenage misery. Not only had she been late for class but her score on her last test had been abysmal, the latest in a series of terrible grades. Her teacher had royally chewed out Usagi for her behaviour, poor grades, and general failings as a student. So now that it was lunch hour Usagi did what she did best, bawl like a small child and stuff her face with food.<p>

Her best friend Naru sighed, torn between the desire to scold Usagi for the constant slacking off and immature behaviour that led to this predicament, and comfort her best friend which had the added bonus of lessening the assault on the eardrums of everyone within twenty meters of the crying Blonde. "Calm down Usagi, yes it's bad but it isn't the end of the world. Crying isn't going to help matters."

This managed to stop the dreaded wailing which caused various students to remove various earplugs and headphones that had been shielding their ears with and others to return to seats they had abandoned to escape the din, most offering small prayers of thanks for the existence of Naru Osaka, saviour of eardrums.

"There, there, Usagi. It'll be okay. Things will look up." Naru said with a small smile.

Usagi nodded, "Thanks Naru, what would I ever do without you?"

'Drive everyone into a murderous rage' Naru thought but didn't say.

This was the time when several of Naru and Usagi's classmates resumed their interrupted conversation. "So did you hear about the recent Jewel store robbery?" One of the girls asked.

"Yeah I heard about that" Said another, "It was the latest of a series of similar robberies over the last few months."

The first girl nodded, "Yeah they nearly got away with thousands of dollars in jewels and jewellery as well as a lot of money."

"But they were stopped by Riastrad!" interrupted the class otaku, Umino.

Usagi tilted her head in confusion, "What's a Ree-as-trad?" She asked mangling the foreign word.

This was all Umino needed to go into full fanboy nerdrage mode. "What! You've never heard of Riastrad, the Blue Lancer! He's only the greatest crime fighting hero to ever grace Tokyo! He appeared in the last year and started busting up criminal operations all over Japan. They say he can out run a mag-train and leap a skyscraper. He's so cool!"

Naru shook her head, "Really, superheroes Umino? Sounds like an Urban legend. Even if this guy is out there fighting crime, superpowers are hard to accept."

Usagi nodded, "Weren't you going on about some superheroes in England last week."

Umino huffed, "I believe in Sailor V and the Knight of Victory."

The others shrugged, Naru broke the awkward pause, "I can totally understand why they'd be targeting Jewellery stores though, I mean my mom's store has quite a lot of merchandise that is very valuable. My mom mentioned we're supposed to be having a sale soon, hopefully we don't have to worry about thugs like that trying to rob our store."

Usagi perked up at this "A sale, of all those pretty gems and jewellery? I so want to check that out!"

Naru smiled, "Why don't you all come to the store after school then. Mom's always happy for potential business."

-

After school Usagi and Naru were amazed at just how much business the OSA-P Jewellers was getting with this sale.

Usagi stared wide-eyed at the sheer number of girls and women in the store, along with a few male customers trying to grab nice gifts for their significant others while the prices were reasonable.

Naru was similarly surprised "Wow, Mom went all out on this sale. I've never seen the place so packed."

Usagi turned her attention to the Jewellery on display, before a sudden realization hit her. "Oh no, I have hardly any money and there's no way my parents will be giving me spending money or buying me stuff with these tests scores." She stared forlornly at the shiny baubles for a while longer before heading to the door. "Bye Naru, see you tomorrow. I need to go be depressed somewhere else."

As she left the store Usagi took the test out of her bag and glared at it as if she could intimidate a better grade out of it. When this failed to accomplish anything she angrily crumpled the test and threw it over her shoulder.

"Hey Dumpling head, Watch where you're throwing your junk!"

Usagi turned to see a young man several years older than her holding her crumpled test in her hand. He slowly opened the wad of paper and let out a long whistle. "Wow, with a test score like this I can see why you'd throw this away. I'd recommend burning it so your shame and stupidity are not passed on to other people through close contact."

"Give me that!" Usagi growled snatching the test paper out of his hands. "And mind your own business you creep!" before stalking off.

Completely unnoticed, a familiar black cat with a crescent mark on its forehead shadowed Usagi every step of the way.

-

Gilgamesh had begun his investigative work. While the mundane resources he had employed had just begun to gather data he had consulted a few mystical sources as well. While most of the mystics he had consulted had been unable to offer much assistance, Kojiro had called with a tip from a mystic source that Gilgamesh thought worth investigating.

It was this that brought Gilgamesh to the Azabu-Juuban district of Tokyo's Minato Ward. He wasn't exactly sure what he was looking for but kept alert for magical phenomena and other unusual occurrences. Despite this he was caught unawares when he literally tripped over an unconscious girl.

After recovering from the stumble Gilgamesh examined the girl to ensure she was alright. This led to two major discoveries. First that the girl was still alive and stable despite his inability to rouse her, and second that she was wearing some form of enchanted necklace. Now if there was one thing that Gilgamesh was qualified to appraise it was magical items, his treasure and armoury was filled with them and he had come to see many of them used over the millennia. Taking the necklace in his hand he could feel it trying to siphon energy from him, while his strong magical heritage meant the drain barely affected him, on a normal human ... well the results spoke for themselves.

Gilgamesh quickly noticed two other girls with similar jewellery unconscious nearby. After removing the jewels from the girls, Gilgamesh took out the cell phone that Kojiro had given him as a direct means of contact and called one of the numbers the Japanese immortal had given him. As soon as some medical assistance arrived Gilgamesh planned on finding the source of these parasitic trinkets and personally expressed his disapproval to those responsible. He figured a sword through a kneecap was a good way to start.

-

A few hours had passed since leaving the Jewellery store and Usagi's mood and situation had not improved. She had come home to find her mother waiting for her to ask about her test results. Upon viewing said test results Ikuko Tsukino had booted her daughter out of the house. Usagi had then been subjected to the mockery of her younger brother Shingo, who had then run inside and slammed the door in Usagi's face to escape her violent retribution leaving her with a hurt foot.

This had prompted another round of weeping from Usagi. Eventually Usagi had been let back in the house which led her to move her weeping to her room. Now she had exhausted herself from crying and was dozing off when something sharp dug into the skin of her leg forcing her to remove her face from where it had been buried in her pillow to see what it was.

She was surprised to see the same cat with the crescent hairless mark on its forehead she had seen this morning sitting on the end of her bed. "What are you doing here, bald kitty?"

Claws dug back into her leg again "I am not bald!" the cat shouted back in an angry yet aristocratic voice. Not that Usagi was in any state to notice these details beyond freaking out that the Cat was talking.

The Cat winced as Usagi shrieked, withdrew her claws and smacked the hysterical girl across the cheek with a paw. "Pull yourself together young lady or I'll use the claws next time."

Usagi managed to stop shrieking but was still panicking and breathing heavily for another couple minutes. "Okay...talking Cat. I have a talking Cat in my room. This isn't a dream because the claws and smack hurt. So I'm either crazy or there's an actual talking cat in my room."

The Cat stared at Usagi "have you finished panicking yet?"

Usagi replied, "I think so, mostly. So assuming I'm not crazy, why are you in my room talking cat?"

-

Shingo Tsukino had a fairly normal relationship with his older sister in that the two were constantly fighting and doing generally mean things to each other while still caring for each other. Not that either of these two would admit to the latter.

However it had been Shingo's suggestion to their mother that Usagi would bother the neighbours that convinced Ikuko to let Usagi back into the house.

Shingo probably knew his sister better than most people, which was why while he tuned out most of her crying, her shriek drew his attention. Curious he sneaked out of room and opened the door a crack so he could watch and listen.

-  
>The Cat looked at the Usagi and said: "My name is Luna and I am no ordinary cat. I have a mission and you have been chosen by destiny to help me with it." Luna then pulled a broach from nowhere and placed it in front of the confused girl. Usagi picked up the trinket enchanted by its beauty and general sparkly qualities.<p>

Luna continued "An ancient and terrible evil is returning to the world and you have been chosen to serve as a warrior of justice against it. That broach will give you the power to combat this evil and protect the world. Simply say 'Moon Prism power, Make Up' to activate it."

Usagi looked at the broach for a moment, hesitant due to the weight of what she was being told. But something about the broach in her hand just felt right so she steeled herself and said "Moon Prism Power, Make Up!"

There was a flash of light, as the power embraced Usagi

Within the span of an instant she was now in an outfit resembling a Sailor Fuku with a great deal of extra ribbons and accessories. With the transformation came a feeling of power and strength, and surprisingly good hearing as she could suddenly hear a scream from far off.  
>And So Sailor Moon slipped out her window to spread love and justice.<p>

-

Shingo was mentally debating whether he needed to claw out his eyes or not. He didn't understand a lot of what was going on. "Who would pick my idiot sister to be a superhero?"

but this was to distract him to the elephant in the room. He'd watched the transformation sequence. And even though it happened instantaneously for some reason he had seen EVERYTHING. He was in little brother hell at the moment.

"Never mention that I saw that, Usage will murder me." Shingo said as he went to his room and grabbed a few things. Mental scarring or not, he was not going to miss out on watching a real superhero in action, even if it was his sister.

-

Ever since this afternoon Naru had thought that he mother seemed to be acting strangely. She seemed a bit too into the sale, and the prices were so low Naru wasn't sure how this sale was supposed to turn a profit.

With evening now settling on the city Naru had gone to check on her mother again to find her mother talking to herself about energy stealing crystals. Naru had been worried and afraid when she'd been noticed and suddenly her mother had grabbed her and hoisted her up with one hand. As she looked into the older woman's eyes Naru came to a sudden realization, whatever this think was it was not her mother.

So she screamed. A scream that got louder as the thing wearing her mother's face began to change revealing a ghoulish visage. "Well now, it looks like I have one more victim to drain tonight. We can't have a little girl like you spreading word of our operations."

"Let her go!" called a defiant voice from behind.

The monster twisted its head around 180 degrees to stare behind it to see the girl standing at the entrance to the store. "Who are you? And how dare you try to give me orders?"

Usagi hesitated a bit not sure what to say before going with what came naturally. "I am the Pretty Sailor-suited Senshi, Sailor Moon, Champion of justice, and in the name of the moon I shall punish you!"

"Bah never heard of you. You're just some little girl trying to play hero." The monster said in reply, "Minions, arise and serve your master Morga. Dispose of this pest!"

In response a number of customers that had not left the store before succumbing to the draining effect of the crystals rose from where they had lain unconscious and moved like a horde of mindless zombies towards Sailor Moon.

Not having any training or practice in a fight the best Sailor Moon could do was dodge and run. Luna ran beside Sailor moon "You've got to turn and fight, running isn't going to help."

"What am I supposed to do? I've never really fought someone before and even if I could what am I going to do with these mind-controlled bystanders?"

Morga cackled, "And you thought you could oppose an agent of the Dark Kingdom. Pathetic, I wonder if you'll last long enough for me to toy with once I'm done draining this girl. Minions Kill her!"

"WAAAAAAAAA I DON'T WANT TO DIE WAAAAAAAAA" Sailor Moon whined when suddenly her hair ornaments amplified and directed the sound at the brainwashed horde smashing them aside with a sonic wave.

Morga stared at this, stunned. So did Naru, Luna, Sailor Moon, and the various other concealed observers.

Morga said, "Okay seriously, what by Metallia's black bosom was that? Who the hell has attacks based on crying?" Which pretty much summed up everyone else's thoughts.

Sailor Moon's Eyes started to tear up and Morga's demonic eyes widened. "No you don't!" the youma rushed forward and grabbed Sailor Moon's throat with her free hand. "I am not letting you use that again."

And as Sailor Moon struggled against the monster's grip two objects sped through the air. A rose embedded itself into the arm that held Sailor Moon while a sword cleaved through the one that held Naru.  
>Two men were about to say something, talking over each other for a moment before turning to glare at each other. The Man in golden armour sighed and gestured for the other man to go first.<p>

The other man, dressed in an elaborate tuxedo, cape, top hat, and domino mask said dramatically, "fear not, I Tuxedo Mask will lend you aid in your hour of need. Any warrior of justice is an ally of mine." He said swirling his cape with a flourish as Sailor Moon looked on in awe.

Gilgamesh groaned, "Gods I cannot believe this; a cry baby and a drama queen. These are the champions she expected to defeat the old foe and bring back that blasted kingdom. If she wasn't already dead for eons I would punch her in the face."

He strode forth into the Jewellery store, contemptuously knocking aside any of the brainwashed customers with an armoured backhand as he approached the Youma who was cradling its stump.

"Who the hell are you?" Morga shrieked

"Quiet dog, I'll deal with your filth after I'm done chastising the other two." The golden figure snapped.

Morga felt the full force of this shining demi-god's force of personality and froze.

"Better." Gilgamesh said. "First you, Mr. Fancy Pants. I approve of your fashion sense, it's very tasteful and elegant attire but it does not belong on a battle field. Have you ever tried to get blood and Youma dust stains out? It is a nightmare. But for all the sins you commit putting dramatic effect over functionality you seem relatively competent, so I'll save the scything commentary for later."

Tuxedo Mask seemed perplexed at this man and was not give time to think of a reply before Gilgamesh moved on. "You little girl, are not getting off so easily."

Sailor Moon winced, "It's my first time! How am I supposed to know how to do all this right away?"

Gilgamesh shook his head, "The fact that you attempted to perform an act of heroism with no real training earns you some points, but frankly you are a disgrace! Too cowardly to fight, forced to resort to weaponizing your whining, and don't get me started on the speeches. So I am going to give you a test. I am going to remove the bystanders from the building. You and Top Hat have until I get back to finish off the Youma. Or I'll put her down myself. Got it?"

Sailor Moon nodded.

Morga finally worked up her nerve again. "How dare you treat me like some kind of nuisance? I am a Youma warrior in the service of Queen Beryl of the Dark Kingdom! You should tremble before me!"

Gilgamesh looked at the enraged Morga and laughed long and hard. Once more the golden clad immortal let his power shine forth "I am Gilgamesh, King of Heroes! And I tremble before no one. Not your Queen, nor your Goddess, and especially not a worm like you."

Gilgamesh bent down and offered his hand to Naru who had crawled out of the way and was staring at the events occurring around her with shocked eyes. "Can you stand young lady?"

Naru hesitantly took the offered hand and stood. "Yes...I think so."

Gilgamesh nodded, "good, now for these other victims... _**ENKIDU**_"

Suddenly a chain appeared in Gilgamesh's hand and snaked out ensnaring the brainwashed mob. The gold armoured man began moving towards the exit taking Naru and the other girls with him.

Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, and Morga finally over came their shock and began to move. Shrieking the youma summoned the cursed crystals to her forming a replacement arm and coating her with crystalline armour. She slashed out with her claws at the two heroes.

Both dodged out of the way and struck back. Tuxedo Mask struck at Morga's throat with his Cane, while Sailor Moon struck out with a clumsy but powerful kick to the Youma's midsection.

Morga staggered back against a display case before ripping it out of the floor and hurling it. Tuxedo Mask dodged left while Sailor Moon dodged right, leaving the Youma growling in frustration and pain.

-

Gilgamesh reached outside and was surprised to find someone else dragging an unconscious captive to safety. The unconscious woman was being pulled by a much smaller figure. Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow at the child.

Naru on the other hand recognized her mother as the person being dragged. She ran to her mother relieved that while unconscious the monster had not harmed her.

Gilgamesh looked at the short rescuer, "Couldn't get her bonds off, huh?"

Shingo looked at the King of Heroes and shrugged, "Sailor Moon isn't the only one new at hero stuff."

"Fair enough," Gilgamesh summoned another sword and quickly cut away 's bonds. "Shall we check on how the Rookie and Opera Lad are doing?"

-

They were doing rather well actually.

Sailor Moon was finally getting the hang of the speed and physical ability her transformation granted her, while Tuxedo Mask was able to understand and react to his combat partner's movements.

Morga was slowly being worn down and was getting desperate. "DIE DAMN YOU" she shrieked and formed a barrage of crystal spikes to fire at the two.

"_Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber!_" Tuxedo Mask fired an energy blast from his hand, destroying the spikes and knocking Morga of balance.

Luna shouted, "Use your Tiara, Sailor Moon!"

Sailor Moon took her tiara off her forehead and felt the magic show her what to do.

"**Moon Tiara Action!**" She called out as she threw the Tiara which had become a glowing disc of light and sliced through the Youma with ease reducing it to a pile of dust.

Tuxedo Mask smiled at Sailor Moon, "Well done, I look forward to our next encounter." Then the masked man jumped to a high window and vanished into the night.

A slow clap echoed through the mostly empty store, "Well done, Moon Brat. You've shown you can learn to do things right." Gilgamesh said with a mocking smile.

"Why are you so being so mean to me? You're acting like everything I do is a personal insult to you." Sailor Moon said sick of being made fun of.

Gilgamesh's smile vanished. "That's a long story and I'll save the history lesson for another day. Suffice to say I have every reason to doubt you, but not enough justification to crush you like an insect. So for now I will let you carry on, while I clean up the mess your predecessor started a long time ago. So until we meet again, Moon Brat, Try to stay alive."

Sailor Moon watched the King of Heroes disappear into the night and sighed, her life had just become a lot more complicated.

-

End of Chapter 1.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: As the Celestial Bodies Align part 1

KojiroSasaki was regularly an early riser. He was often awake and beginning his daily practice and meditation before day break. Clothed in a traditional umanori hakama and kimono with an indigo haori, the Immortal swordsman moved the 90 centimeter blade of his nodachi in lightning quick strikes with perfect precision. The ancient, well cared for sword, Monohoshi Zao danced in its master's hands until the dawn broke and Kojiro halted his practice.

A pair of delicate yet strong arms wrapped around him as he finished sheathing his long blade. He smiled as he felt a warm body press against him.

"Up before me again, Darling? So cruel of you to leave me to wake up to a cold and empty bed," The soft feminine voice was mocking and playful rather than angry or offended.

Kojiro chuckled "We both know that if I don't get up before you by the time I got out of bed you would have made sure I barely had the strength to move, let alone practice my art. Besides we have appointments to keep today so we can't stay in the bedroom until noon, despite how much I'd love to indulge your every whim."

A musical laugh as his wife moved in front of him without completely releasing her embrace. Her auburn hair was almost pink as it swayed and sparkled in the early morning light. "I know you'll make it up to me. You always do when you cut short my play time. But you're right I'm heading out to talk to our old friend Katsuo Hino about his granddaughter, he says her spiritual abilities are developing and she's shown promise as an oracle."

Kojiro frowned for a moment, "Be sure to remind him that the rules of behaviour in your presence are still in effect. I don't care if he's a senior citizen now; the penalty is still the same."

"So protective of me, you know how to make a woman feel special. Reminds me why I fell for you in the first place." She said pulling her taller husband down into a kiss.

When they broke off the kiss Kojiro stated, "I just wish I hadn't made you wait a few centuries."

"Dying and being reborn will do that." Was her reply, "But at least you came back."

"For the Smartest and most beautiful woman in the world, Tamamo-no-Mae, how can a man do any less." Kojiro said using the title his wife had gone under when she finally found him again. "I'd do it again if I had to Misukume" Switching to her preferred name of this century.

"Enough reminiscing, you need to get ready for your day, I mean you need to send Gilgamesh an update before you meet with the old hound. So that means standard business clothes" Misukume scolded. "As dashing as you look in those clothes it's a fashion faux pas in this era."

Kojiro just smiled and nodded, wondering how he'd been lucky enough to catch the eye of his goddess on earth.

Elsewhere in Tokyo as had become a custom in the several months since they met Makoto Kino and Setanta Mac Deichtine sat down for breakfast in Makoto's home. However there was an awkward silence today, as there seemed to be an almost palpable feeling of depression coming from.

Setanta broke the silence, "So you're transfer has finally gone through, Makoto?"

The girl sighed and nodded, "yes, in a few days I start at Juuban Municipal Junior High School, away from everything I want to leave behind. Like Sempai."

"You really need to get over that jerk. And I hope the change of setting helps you. And to hell with what your old school thought, I'm proud with how you handled the bastard. Time honoured tradition among many of the women I've known, 'he breaks your heart, and you break his limbs'." Setanta said, still wondering if it was worth hunting down the little bastard who hurt the girl he'd taken under his wing.

Makoto just looked down and said nothing.

Setanta saw his words were not helping things much. "Right I've always been a man of action more than words and right now you need something to help get you out of your funk and back to being the wonderful cheerful girl I know you are. Since you're between schools as it were, you're coming with me to meet a friend of mine. We're going to be meeting up for a meal, some drinks and later karaoke. If we're lucky his wife might turn up for the last part. If some fun doesn't help then another set of ears to listen to your woes can't hurt."

Makoto looked at the man she'd become close to since they'd fought together in an alley somewhere. He was like an older brother or some sort of wacky uncle, always looking out for her. And for someone without family like her it meant a lot. "You'd have me tag along on your personal time with your friend?"

"In a heartbeat. Kojiro won't mind and I'm not going to let you beat yourself up like this if I can help it." Setanta said firmly. "So you're coming along if I have to toss you over my shoulder and carry you."

For the first time that morning Makoto smiled.

The Dark Kingdom was in chaos. Not to say that it wasn't normally in a chaotic state considering its denizens were mainly Youma, beings of chaotic nature, but now news was circulating throughout the forces of evil that stirred ancient fears.

There was news that operations to collect energy for Queen Metallia's resurrection and seek out the Silver Crystal had met with unexpected resistance. Danburite's operations in Western Europe had met with disaster. Other operations had faced unexpected setbacks. And now when they had narrowed down the location of the Silver Crystal to a single nation and Metallia's return seemed so close, the worst had happened.

The King of Heroes was back.

Not all of the frontline Youma had been present during the assault on the Moon Kingdom but even those spawned after the Great Banishment had heard tales of the Golden Destroyer. He and his companion, the Wild Man, had cut a swath through the hordes led by Gugalanna, the Great Bull, one of Metallia's most powerful servants and leader of one of the largest hosts during the assault. Not only had the two of them held back Gugalanna's forces until the Youma had all been sealed, but they had slain the Great Bull himself. And when the Golden Destroyer's companion succumbed to the wounds Gugalanna had given him, the King of Uruk had unleashed terrible vengeance upon the Youma that remained. Only very few survived to be banished.

The Youma were not the only ones who were not happy with the developments in Japan.

Queen Beryl had called her generals, the Shitennou together. "Jadeite report, how many operations have we lost?"

The Blonde haired general winced and began listing off numbers, "In the short time since Gilgamesh made his presence known we're lost three operations in the Juuban district where it's easiest to teleport in Youma, and another eight in various parts of Tokyo. He's picking off lone Youma as quickly as he can find them. The energy gatherers are no match on their own. I suggest since the city is important to our energy that we reinforce our remaining operations by assigning more than one Youma at a time. That way we can offer opposition to Gilgamesh as well as eliminate other enemies such as that Senshi that attacked one of our operations."

Queen Beryl nodded, "I approve of this, see that it is done. However even increasing the guard on our operations will not be enough to stop Gilgamesh. While Jadeite continues his work and searches for the Ginzuishou, I want you three to prepare a means of eliminating Gilgamesh."

Kunzite, Zoisite, and Nephrite nodded at the command.

Nephrite said "It will not be easy my Queen, Gilgamesh is powerful. Brute force is clearly not an option."

Zoisite added, "We need to be careful of the many artefacts he uses. However since he's moved to engage us within a city he has to limit himself to his less powerful and destructive weapons to avoid attention and collateral damage."

Kunzite concluded, "We will exploit every advantage this battle field gives us and we will remove this threat even if we have to do so ourselves. Even if he manages to elude us it will distract him from Jadeite's operations which will aid in Metallia's restoration which even he cannot oppose."

Queen Beryl smiled, "This world belongs to us, and not even that relic of the Silver Millennium will stop us!"

Usagi was lost in thought as she walked to school, after the jewellery store incident she had been hit with a lot of information which she was having trouble processing. After the encounter with the man in gold, Luna had been trying to teach Usagi a lot in a short span of time which just left the girl confused. Even now as the Cat walked on a short wall beside her on her way to school the cat was trying to give her instructions.

"Luna," Usagi whined, "I can't understand any of this. I can barely keep track of what my mission is let alone why and how I'm supposed to do it. Especially since you won't give me a straight answer about whom I'm supposed to be fighting against."

Luna sighed, "I'm sorry but ever since we encountered Gilgamesh, I've felt a sudden panic. Normally I wouldn't be trying to force so much on you at once, although I do expect you to learn all this. But that man fills me with unease as much as the Dark Kingdom does so you need to be ready to encounter both of them. We need to find the other Sailor Senshi and the Princess, and then we can worry about where characters like Gilgamesh and Tuxedo Mask stand in the fight against the Dark Kingdom"

Luna thought to herself 'if only I could remember more, I'd know why that man fills me with this fear.'

Usagi's thoughts drifted in a different direction at the thought of Tuxedo Mask. For the teenage girl the man was absolutely dreamy. It was more than just his good looks and aura of mystery, Gilgamesh was a mystery as well and not lacking in looks either but something about Tuxedo Mask made her feel safe, like he would protect and support her no matter what. And of course every girl is crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man.

It was during this haze of teenage romantic fantasizing that Usagi stopped paying attention to where she was walking and started crossing the street into the path of an oncoming car. By the time Luna recovered from her own distraction it was too late to do more than shriek a warning. "Usagi look out!"

Only for Usagi to be suddenly grabbed and hoisted over the shoulder of a tall brown haired girl with a ponytail who leapt out of the way of the car.

Makoto and Setanta had decided that since it would be a while before they met up with Setanta's friend that the rest of the day would be dedicated to cheering Makoto up. Setanta decided the best place to head first was one of the local public parks which had a particularly impressive public garden. Setanta was halfway through an amusing anecdote about the man he would be introducing Makoto to later.

"So I'm waiting for Kojiro to finish getting changed into his kimono to head down to the hotel ballroom for the reception. I'm eager to get down because I was hungry and painfully sober so I bang on the door demanding he hurry up and he says to go on without me. I ask him what's wrong and he tells me there's a problem with his formal Kimono he might be a while. Now I've been ready for half an hour at this point so my patience has run out and I force the door open. And there he is wearing the most girly pink Kimono I have ever laid eyes on."

Makoto erupted into giggles while Setanta continued.

"Everything about this item screamed that it belonged on a woman, although to be fair Kojiro is bishonen enough to pull it off. Kojiro looks completely mortified since supposedly his wife had bought him this formal Kimono special on one of her trips and he did not have another set of formal clothes. Not to mention he was terrified of pissing off his wife if she found out he hated something she bought for him. Thus he's in a complete panic about what to do since he doesn't want to offend our host, his wife, or humiliate himself. I'm busy trying to keep from laughing in his face so I say..."

Makoto was suddenly distracted from the story at the sight of a blonde girl carelessly walking into traffic ahead of them heading the opposite direction. Seeing a car coming towards the girl Makoto immediately started sprinting forward.

"Have to hurry, that girl has no idea that the car is coming." Makoto thought as she gained speed and momentum.

As the distance between the blonde girl and the oncoming car narrowed, the image of burning wreckage and broken bodies of a different accident from many years ago flashed through Makoto's mind.

'I can't let it happen again. I won't let it happen again. This time I can DO something!'

With this final mental declaration Makoto put on an final burst of speed as she closed the gap between herself and the other girl, scooping the Blonde up forcefully and leaping out of the way of the vehicle as it rushed by.

The two girls skidded to a halt safely on the sidewalk, Makoto panting for breath as the Usagi looked up in surprise and awe at her rescuer.

For a moment neither spoke. Before Makoto smiled and slowly lowered Usagi to the ground. "Are you alright?"

Usagi nodded still dumbstruck by the daring rescue from the beautiful tall girl.

Makoto breathed a sigh of relief. "Be more careful next time. You could get hurt if you don't pay attention to the world around you."

Usagi lowered her eyes, embarrassed at the danger she had carelessly put herself in. "Thank you for saving me."

Makoto just smiled back at her. "your very welcome.

Luna stared at Makoto, trying to get a good reading of the girl when all three were surprised by a voice coming from right next to them. "Hey little girl, you dropped this."

Sentanta grinned wolfishly as he held Usagi's school bag which has slipped from her grasp when Makoto had saved her. Usagi took the bag still feeling sheepish for the trouble she had caused these friendly strangers, before realizing she was late again. Giving them a quick bow she said "I have to go, thank you both very" before starting to run off.

Sentanta called after her "just watch out, heroes like Makoto are rare these days."

As the Makoto and Sentanta headed the opposite way Usagi had run off Luna stared at them. Something about the man bothered her. She had not noticed the man approach them, something her feline senses should have picked up. Also Usagi's bag had not been remotely scuffed or damaged, like it had been snatched out of the air. Looking over his shoulder as the two walked away Sentanta met the Cat's eyes for a moment then gave a little shrug before he began picking up on the story the rescue had interrupted.

"Now where was I? Oh right, the women's Kimono..."

Despite her near brush with vehicular blunt force trauma, Usagi's morning went as normal: Arrive to class late, get yelled and punished, get another test back with miserable results.

However by lunch time the results for a recent set of mock final exams had been posted for the entire school to see, which caused an explosion of gossip among the student body about the top scoring student with a perfect score.

After devouring her lunch Usagi decided to head off alone for a bit, to take some time to try and think of the various crazy things that had entered her life. Between the duties of being sailor moon, and the hassles of normal life Usagi's mind of even more of an unorganized mess than usual. The memories of the girl who saved her from the car earlier just added to the things Usagi had running through her head.

"Why does everything have to be so hard?" Usagi mumbled to herself, wishing Luna was around to talk to. "even just petting the furry little grouch would make me feel better. What does Luna get up to when I'm in school anyways?"

Usagi's question was answered by a surprised yelp ahead of her. Usagi looked ahead to see Luna landing on top of a girl with short blue hair a few meters ahead of her after jumping out of a tree. For a moment she was dumbstruck as to why the cat who always acted so prim and proper would being leaping out of trees onto people. As a result she just watched the scene unfold in from of her.

Ami was caught off guard and stared at her furry ambusher, "A Kitty? You completely surprised me." The girl began petting the cat who purred and rubbed against Ami's hand. "aww, you are just too cute. If I didn't live in a condo I could take you home with me."

Seeing the girl that the school gossip had labelled cold and unapproachable so happy at the presence of a surprising cat, Usagi got the impression that no one really knew the girl behind the perfect scores. She decided she would talk to Ami, when Luna spotted Usagi and lept from Ami's shoulder onto Usagi's head. "Luna, be careful you silly cat." She turned to Ami "Sorry about that, are you alright?"

Ami smiled at Usagi "After the way the cat fell from the sky, I thought she was an angel."

"Luna, an angel?" Usagi asked, earning her a glare from the cat and an embarrassed squeak from Ami. Usagi just found it adorable. "You're Ami Mizuno from class five right? I'm Usagi Tsukino from class one. And this is my cat Luna."

And thus began an unusual friendship between two very different girls.


End file.
